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Saturday, June 7, 2014

What is Valhalla Project exactly?

We get that question a lot. Valhalla is a unique operation set up to assist combat veterans and war zone civilians with a special place to decompress while at the same time gaining new skills useful for rebuilding your lives following years of military service.

We teach homesteading skills on a large ranch
as a vehicle and method for building your self confidence in transitioning back
into the civilian world. Off-grid construction, solar energy, permaculture
design and implementation, livestock and poultry management, wildlife and
forestry, outdoor recreation, and "getting back to basics" provide
new skills and topics to talk about with civilians who simply cannot identify
with your previous warzone experiences.

Army vet Ben with chick hatched at Valhalla

Valhalla serves as a valuable
testing ground for those of you who are thinking about starting your own
private homestead. Those who fully intend on returning to urban or city
environments will still take away a new appreciation for food production and
adventures in rural living.

Former USMC vet Eric and Gordon. A formal range is in the planning stage

And most of all Valhalla
provides a calm, secure place to stay while you engage in productive,
interesting activities alongside fellow vets. No outside pressures, no stress.
Work, relax, and hang out with your buddies while you gain useful skills and
decompress. Participants have great chow – and will learn how to prep and cook
it – that is produced on the Valhalla property
and through local sources as much as possible.

Chow time at Valhalla? Not quite, but close

Along the way we’ll talk about transition
skills such as resume prep, interview techniques, personal financial
management, and just about any other subject of interest.

Co-founders Chris and Gordon have both been
downrange so we have an idea of what veteran’s life was like there. Gordon is
an “Old Vet” having served in Vietnam
and went through painful transition processes himself.

Generation helping generation. Part of the spirit of Valhalla Project

Veteran participants talk things out without
judgment and can choose to listen to some personal experiences of what has
worked and what doesn’t along the way.

We’re mission oriented. It’s not a lavish
lifestyle; it’s a work in progress with a 100-year horizon. Come to Valhalla prepared to get down and dirty, to pitch in with
building an oasis that will benefit and comfort your fellow veterans for many
generations to come. We don’t draw salaries or benefits and, truth be told, at
our stage of life it would be a helluva lot easier to kick back and enjoy
ourselves rather than continuing to put in long days at Valhalla. So why did we
take this on? Simple: We saw the need and stepped up to address it.

Standing in a swale surveyed, marked, and planted by Valhalla veteran participants

If you are a vet then contact us if you are
interested in this exciting opportunity. If you are a civilian who knows a
veteran who might benefit from Valhalla, then
please have the vet contact us directly. Food and lodging are provided as well
as a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many to grow and get stronger. When you
leave you’ll feel better about yourself and have a sense of accomplishment
while embarking on your new personal adventures as post-military civilians with
confidence!

Got questions? Want to learn more? Simply
curious? Contact us.

* * *

The Valhalla Project needs your help and support

Just
getting a project like Valhalla up and running has required a significant
investment in time, money, and labor. With roughly $500,000 already invested
over the last two years into the Valhalla Project for property acquisition, feeding
and housing Soldier participants, infrastructure and facility improvements,
animal purchases and feed, tools and building supplies, forest and pasture
management expenses, and much much more, resources are running thin. We need
YOUR help to keep Valhalla functioning efficiently - while at the same time
expanding vitally important programs to assist post-9/11 combat Soldiers and
war zone civilian workers to transition back into the civilian world.

The Valhalla Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity recognized by the IRS.Nobody, including cadre or board members, draws a paycheck here, nor will they ever: we simply give everything we have to make Valhalla possible. 100% of your donation via Paypal will go directly to program expenses, period. If you'd prefer to instead directly donate four new tractor tire, a truckload of straw bales, a pallet of dimension lumber, or even a few dozen 10' sheets of forest green tin roofing, that would be absolutely wonderful - yet perhaps polking the "Donate" button above to contribute $10, $20, $50 or even more might be a little easier and more practical!

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The Valhalla Project is a nonprofit organization recognized by the IRS.

What is the Valhalla Project?

Transitioning back into the civilian world following military service can be very difficult. The Valhalla Project offers post-9/11 combat veterans the opportunity to sort through this difficult process in a secure environment while building self-reliance skills on a 200-acre private homestead in the Ozark Mountains. Valhalla provides the time, space, and fellowship for individuals to assess their options for the future, develop personal goals for success, build personal discipline, and explore what is going right -- and wrong -- in their world. Participants may stay at Valhalla for up to three months, with excellent room and board provided, in exchange for participation in four hours of homesteading projects each day. Build it for yourselves, for your buddies, and for future generations of combat veterans: a real home-away-from-home, particularly for (but not limited to) those veterans who do not currently have supportive families of their own to rely upon. Active duty military personnel and combat zone civilian contractors are also welcome participants!